ris3n's Apologetics Codex

Passage

James 2.21-24

Book: James · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT

Immediate context (±2 verses)

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ASV

19. Thou believest that God is one; thou doest well: the demons also believe, and shudder. 20. But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith apart from works is barren?

21. Was not Abraham our father justified by works, in that he offered up Isaac his son upon the altar? 22. Thou seest that faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect; 23. and the scripture was fulfilled which saith, And Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned unto him for righteousness; and he was called the friend of God. 24. Ye see that by works a man is justified, and not only by faith.

  1. And in like manner was not also Rahab the harlot justified by works, in that she received the messengers, and sent them out another way? 26. For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, even so faith apart from works is dead. (James 2:19-26, ASV)
WEB

19. You believe that God is one. You do well. The demons also believe, and shudder. 20. But do you want to know, vain man, that faith apart from works is dead?

21. Wasn’t Abraham our father justified by works, in that he offered up Isaac his son on the altar? 22. You see that faith worked with his works, and by works faith was perfected; 23. and the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him as righteousness”; and he was called the friend of God. 24. You see then that by works, a man is justified, and not only by faith.

  1. In the same way, wasn’t Rahab the prostitute also justified by works, in that she received the messengers, and sent them out another way? 26. For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, even so faith apart from works is dead. (James 2:19-26, WEB)
KJV

19. Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble. 20. But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?

21. Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar? 22. Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect? Seest: or, Thou seest 23. And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God. 24. Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only.

  1. Likewise also was not Rahab the harlot justified by works, when she had received the messengers, and had sent them out another way? 26. For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also. spirit: or, breath (James 2:19-26, KJV)
YLT

19. thou, thou dost believe that God is one; thou dost well, and the demons believe, and they shudder! 20. And dost thou wish to know, O vain man, that the faith apart from the works is dead?

21. Abraham our father, was not he declared righteous out of works, having brought up Isaac his son upon the altar? 22. dost thou see that the faith was working with his works, and out of the works the faith was perfected? 23. and fulfilled was the Writing that is saying, 'And Abraham did believe God, and it was reckoned to him, to righteousness;' and, 'Friend of God' he was called. 24. Ye see, then, that out of works is man declared righteous, and not out of faith only;

  1. and in like manner also Rahab the harlot, was she not out of works declared righteous, having received the messengers, and by another way having sent forth? 26. for as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also the faith apart from the works is dead. (James 2:19-26, YLT)

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Setting

  • Speaker: James (Iakōbos), identified by the great majority of interpreters as the brother of Jesus (Galatians 1:19; Mark 6:3), leader of the Jerusalem church (Acts 15:13; Acts 21:18). He introduces himself simply as "a bond-servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ" (James 1:1), never as a relative.
  • Audience: Jewish believers outside Palestine, addressed as "the twelve tribes who are dispersed abroad" (James 1:1). The congregations meet in a synagōgē (James 2:2) and include both poor members and wealthy visitors.
  • Location: Jerusalem, from which James led the mother church.
  • Time period: Date disputed. An early date (c. AD 44-49) would make this the earliest surviving Christian writing; a later one places it before James's death, which Josephus dates to AD 62 (Antiquities 20.200). The letter shows no awareness of the Gentile-circumcision controversy settled in Acts 15, which many take as evidence for the early date.

Theological reading

Abraham as James's exhibit, and the passage where the relationship to Paul must be settled.

The question (verse 21). "Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up Isaac his son on the altar?" The event is Genesis 22, the binding of Isaac.

The claim (verse 22). "Faith was working with his works, and as a result of the works, faith was perfected." Synērgei, worked together with, and eteleiōthē, was brought to its intended completion. James is not describing two contributions to a total but one thing reaching maturity.

The scripture (verse 23). "And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, Abraham believed God and it was reckoned to him as righteousness." The verb eplērōthē, was fulfilled, places Genesis 15:6 earlier and Genesis 22 as its confirmation. On James's own chronology the crediting came roughly thirty years before the work, which is decisive for how his argument relates to Paul's.

The conclusion (verse 24). "You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone." The word dikaioō is doing different work here than in Romans 3:28: James's context is a claim being tested against evidence, which is the vindication sense the verb carries at Luke 7:35.

Paul's use of the same figure. Romans 4:1-5 argues that Abraham was justified before circumcision and apart from works of the law, against people who made law-keeping the ground of standing. James argues against people who thought assent sufficed. Different opponents, different senses of the shared words, the same Abraham.

See James 2.24 and Justification by Faith.

Key words

Theologically-loaded Greek or Hebrew words in this verse may have entries in the lexicon. Curated to roughly 100 contested terms across the corpus, not every word; see Lexicon Roadmap.

Quoted in

Arguments and defeaters:

Concepts:

People:

Lexicon:

Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

  • ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
  • WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
  • KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
  • YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.